From a lofty perch atop a Martian hill, NASA's Spirit rover has been soaking in a commanding view of a vast horizon since completing a difficult climb to the summit.
On Thursday, scientists released the first full-color panoramic picture of the landscape taken by the rover from its lookout point, showing the rover's tracks in the dust, flat plains of the surrounding Gusev Crater region, rugged terrain dubbed "the geologic promised land" by one scientist, distant plateaus on the crater rim and more hills.
The solar-powered Spirit's yearlong ascent to the peak of Husband Hill - part of the low-ranging Columbia Hills - was a major feat for the six-wheel rover, which along with its twin, Opportunity, landed on opposite sides of Mars in January 2004 to look for evidence of the past history of water on the cold, dusty world.
The rover reached the 270-foot-high summit - about the height of the Statue of Liberty - on Aug. 21.
"That's no Mount Everest but for a little rover this was a heck of a climb," mission principal investigator Steve Squyres said in a briefing televised from NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C.
"This is an unprecedented engineering robotic accomplishment," he said.
The panorama will probably be "one of the signature accomplishments of the mission," Squyres said.
Since arriving at its destination, Spirit has been snapping pictures and analyzing the soil with its robotic arm. In coming weeks, the remote-control geologist will roam the summit, studying the makeup of the rocks to determine if they were once water-soaked and look for other clues that the past environment might have been favorable to life.
Scientists hope Spirit's new vantage point will provide a deeper understanding of how Husband Hill formed. During its climb to the top, Spirit passed by layered rocks on the side of the hill that showed evidence of being altered by water, said Ray Arvidson, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis and deputy principal investigator of the rover mission.
| • | Scientists Release Rover Panoramic Photo
Associated Press Online, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2005 Byline: Alicia Chang, AP Science Writer |
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| • | Top of the Other World
Working atop a range of Martian hills, NASA's Spirit rover is rewarding researchers with tempting scenes filled with evidence of past planet environments. Astrobiology Magazine, Friday, Sept. 2, 2005 Byline: based on NASA/JPL report |
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